How to Play Sheng Ji
Description
A Chinese partnership trick-taking game with a dynamic trump system that shifts every round. The team that wins the most points advances their rank through the deck.
Objective
Team up with the player across from you and advance your team's level, hand after hand, by capturing point cards in tricks.
Setup
Four players in fixed partnerships, using two decks shuffled together (108 cards including Jokers).
Deal twenty-five cards to each player, leaving eight extra cards as a hidden kitty.
The trump suit for the hand is decided by bidding — tied to your team's current level rank (for example, if your team is on level 3, that rank in whichever suit you bid becomes trump for the hand).
Rules
Whoever won the bid takes the kitty, adds it to their hand, then sets aside the same number of cards face down for the end of the hand.
The bidder leads first, playing a single card, a pair, a "tractor" (consecutive pairs), or another valid combination.
Everyone else must follow with the same number of cards, matching suit as closely as possible, and try to beat the combination if they can.
Highest combination of the suit led wins the trick — or the highest trump, if any trump was played. Winner leads next.
Winning
Kings, Tens, and Fives are worth points when captured in tricks; everything else is worth nothing.
The declaring side needs to keep the opposing team below 80 points to advance their level; the opposing team needs 80 or more to seize the declaring role for the next hand instead.
Whichever team advances all the way past Ace first wins the match.